Therapy will aim at increasing positive fusional vergence ranges to help strengthen the fusional vergence system and make near tasks more tolerable. Theme, Congenital Ocular Motor Apraxia It affects young children. Defective or absence of voluntary horizontal saccades to visual stimuli: they cannot move their eyes horizontally to look at a target. All Rights Reserved. RDDivergence paralysis. The patient looks into the stereoscope to see two imagesthe right eye will see one image and the left eye will see the other. J AAPOS 2014;18:370-373. From there, basic vergence exercises will be added in. 9. Over a period of several months, the diplopia becomes more constant and is noticed while driving, watching television, and in other long-distance vision situations. Since the cardinal symptom of divergence insufficiency is double vision, this symptom was used to establish the total duration of the follow-up. The differential includes: It can be difficult to adjudicate small angle deviations such as HES and SES from mild myasthenia gravis, incompletely resolved sixth nerve palsy, thyroid eye disease, and decompensated prior phorias. 13.119). Accordingly, I would recommend deferring consideration of strabismus surgery in this population for a sufficiently prolonged period of time to determine whether the esotropia might resolve spontaneously. 2000;118(9):12371241. How is convergence insufficiency treated? Patients were categorized into 2 groups, primary (ie, neurologically isolated based on clinical criteria) and secondary (ie, associated with a neurologic or systemic disorder). To begin therapy, many therapists will focus first on normalizing the accommodative system. Sensory Anomalies. Another area of controversy concerns whether divergence insufficiency is a localizing sign referable to injury of a "divergence center," or is a nonlocalizing sign associated with a variety of focal and diffuse brain insults. SHarbison More respect for connective tissues. This page has been accessed 63,795 times. All Rights Reserved, Challenges in Clinical Electrocardiography, Clinical Implications of Basic Neuroscience, Health Care Economics, Insurance, Payment, Scientific Discovery and the Future of Medicine, 2000;118(9):1237-1241. doi:10.1001/archopht.118.9.1237. It is an unusual form of strabismus with esotropia and diplopia only at distance and single binocular vision at near. One of the most important aspects of successfully prescribing prism is choosing patients who will benefit the most from it. It was found that the mean distance-esotropia deviation in Prism was 6.9 0.7 and it resolved to 0.3 0.3 after surgery, while mean vertical deviation went from 3.0 0.3 to 0.7 0.2. Esodeviation is comitant in all fields of . The tool itself can be calibrated to work on increasing divergence or convergence, depending on what it is set to. I reviewed the medical records of patients with divergence insufficiency that I had evaluated from July 1987 through April 1999 in my neuro-ophthalmology practice at a single institution. Other training exercises include base-out prisms for near viewing and convergence exercises. Mosbys Optometric Problem Solving Series, ed. Clin Exp Optom. Vertical Heterophoria. From the Departments of Neurology and Ophthalmology, Marshfield Clinic, Marshfield, Wis. [5] Initially, most patients only notice intermittent binocular diplopia at long distances, such as in the theater or while driving. Beginning treatment, the patient suppressed on Worth Dot testing and had no RDS stereoacuity, even with corrective prism in place. Using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), a coronal image 6 mm anterior to the eyeball-optic nerve junction was measured and used to examine the extraocular muscle (EOM) path shift . In a Tranaglyph, the amount of convergence or divergence needed to fuse the image is pre-determined, i.e. Divergence insufficiency is associated with systemic and neurological disorders, so we must rule out any underlying conditions that may be causing it. The duration of time to resolution of double vision in the remaining 8 patients was 1 week to 26 months (median, 5 months). Cotter SA. 3. The diverse conditions and sites of associated lesions of the patients with secondary divergence insufficiency in this series imply that secondary divergence insufficiency is not particularly localizing, nor is it necessarily specific for intracranial hypertension. NParalysis of divergence. reported a case series of 9 patients with vertical strabismus incomitant in horizontal gaze positions and cyclotorsion who underwent Adjustable small-incision selective tenotomy and plication. Rutkowski Bilateral medial rectus muscle recession for divergence insufficiency pattern esotropia. During the total period of follow-up, none of the patients developed an alternative neurologic disorder. Between the polarizing glasses and the patients fusional vergence system, he or she will be asked to either converge or diverge to fuse the two partial images into one 3-D image. The characteristics of the patients in this series who have an idiopathic disorder suggest that if certain rules of diagnosis are obeyed, divergence insufficiency can be distinguished from sixth cranial nerve palsy in most cases using clinical techniques. A secondary vertical deviation, on the other hand, presents when the patients eyes are strabismic but disappears when the patient aligns their eyes to the ortho position.7 Secondary vertical deviations are common in strabismic patients, particularly in those with intermittent exotropia. Drs. Testing for suppression and anomalous correspondence can be easily done with the Worth Dot test. While viewing the Worth Dot test, prism is gradually increased until the patient reports fusion. Primary and secondary forms exist, with the latter more urgently addressed due to neurologic comorbidities. Lyle The LR-SR band vertically supports the LR pulley against the downward force of the inferior oblique muscle to maintain the LR pulleys vertical position. We studied cases with divergence insufficiency and high myopia in our neuro-ophthalmology clinic. What is the cause of convergence spasm? et al. In addition, all patients underwent examination of ocular motility using a Maddox rod to demonstrate that the angle of uncrossed deviation increased as the viewing distance increased, remained the same or decreased in right and left gazes at distance, and decreased as the viewing distance decreased. Questions: 125. Jampolsky If you can remember the old newspaper comics that had a green image with a red image overlying it that would turn into a 3-D image if you put on red/blue 3-D glassestranaglyphs are made similarly. Divergence insufficiency is characterized as follows: Comitant esotropia is present at distance but not at near. Determining how much prism is required for improved fusion, or fusion prism, is another method for prescribing prism for your strabismic patients. Symptoms resolved in 8 (40%) of 20 patients after a median of 5 months. Weird vision divergence upon waking at night User Name: Remember Me: Password . . However, it seems unlikely, since divergence insufficiency resolved in all 4 patients and no other neurologic problems developed during the time of each patient's follow-up of 1 month, 5.5 months, 34 months, and 44 months, respectively. Terms of Use| Godts D, Mathysen DG. However, the cause of convergence insufficiency is often unknown. In divergence insufficiency, one or both eye(s) are unable to diverge appropriately to a given target. Their patients all had satisfactory results, with no patients initially over-corrected or requiring additional prisms. This concept was first championed by Bruce,6 whose reasoning for its existence was admittedly "guided by deduction rather than influenced by definite proof." Call our optometrists at 302-299-1286 or. Relieving prism is often prescribed for patients with intermittent strabismus and sometimes for those with constant strabismus. 4. Usually the sensorimotor exam is helpful, as in SES the misalignment does not map similar to cranial nerve palsies or skew deviation. If the eyes do drift out, the person is likely to have double vision. Her cycloplegic retinoscopy was +3.00sph OD and +2.25sph OS. Bergman, Pugh and Duke-Elder favored the view of divergence as a passive result of relaxation of convergence. CHNuclear and infranuclear ocular motility disorders. METraviesa They had experienced double vision for 5 weeks, 5 months, and 6 months, respectively, up to the time of their last evaluation, but did not return for further follow-up. Double vision. It is possible that with longer follow-up, the number of patients with resolution of diplopia might increase. Actually it's not synonymous with divergence paralysis, but it is a separate clinical entity This combined with the success of prism treatment in patients with divergence insufficiency makes prescribing prism the ideal initial treatment for this condition. Since divergence is an active process, not a passive one associated with relaxation of the medial rectus muscles,5 some investigators hypothesize that a "divergence center" must exist. In spectacle-dependent patients, a temporary Fresnel prism or permanent ground in prism are usually helpful in managing the double vision for distance without inducing diplopia for near given their strong near fusional capacities as mentioned before. 129. The first hurdle is ensuring your patient is comfortable with wearing spectacles. Other patients without known neurologic disorder (eg, midbrain metastasis) were referred to evaluate double vision. One of these patients had posterior ischemic optic neuropathy, but no other signs of orbital ischemia. Therapists can make this activity more advanced by increasing the amount the, changing the target) or by using multiple, and making the patient look from one to another, , however instead of there being two different transparent image, that need to be fused into one, there is one image. The clinical neurologic evaluation is a powerful tool that distinguishes those with a primary disorder from those harboring an underlying neurologic or systemic condition. Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol. Magnetic resonance imaging did not identify hydrocephalus or involvement of the lesion along the anatomic course of the abducens nerve. They concluded that GVRT performed with intraoperative monitoring under topical anaesthesia, precise correction of hypertropia up to 10 can be achievable. _________________________________________________________________. The exercises for divergence and convergence insufficiencies are very similar in structure, but fine-tuned to work on strengthening either negative fusional vergence or positive fusional vergence. JWStockbridge 1995, St. Louis, Missouri: Mosby. Although no unsuspected neurologic disorder surfaced during the period of follow-up in these patients, I strongly recommend that a patient with isolated divergence insufficiency be followed closely to detect, for example, signs of developing intracranial hypertension or abducens nerve palsy. None of these patients developed signs of an underlying neurologic disorder during follow-up. Antireflective coating is also beneficial for patients wearing prism lenses. It is seen in young children who have a defect or absence of voluntary horizontal saccades to visual stimuli. Goseki T, Suh SY, Robbins L, Pineles SL, Velez FG, Demer JL "Prevalence of Sagging Eye Syndrome in Adults with Binocular Diplopia." By continuing to use our site, or clicking "Continue," you are agreeing to our, Clinical Features of Patients With Primary and Secondary Divergence Insufficiency, Disorders Associated With Secondary Divergence Insufficiency. There were 20 patients classified as having primary and 15 patients classified as having secondary divergence insufficiency. The following information was abstracted from the medical records: current medical history, past medical history, details of the ocular motor and general neurologic examinations, results of radiographic and laboratory tests, and long-term follow-up of those cases that were classified as idiopathic. Her cover test revealed a 25 PD constant right esotropia with a 2 PD constant right hypotropia. DIVERGENCE INSUFFICIENCY :- Divergence insufficiency refers to a clinically defined acquired disorder of ocular horizontal version . 10. It is most often related to raised intracranial pressure or Chiari malformation. LRosenbaum In fact, when the vergence system is struggling, the accommodative system often picks up the slack and becomes overworked, which can also play a role in some of the symptoms of eye strain, fatigue, and headaches. [5], In recent imaging studies, Patel et al. with a stereo image already pre-made onto the card. [10] In 2013, Stager et al. Head trauma 3. Vision suppression stops you from seeing double, but it doesn't fix the problem. Another condition commonly treated with prism is vertical heterophoria, or vertical strabismus. Retrospective survey of patients with divergence insufficiency. Fresnel membrane prisms can be very useful for many aspects of prescribing prism. These conditions that affect convergence or divergence may cause symptoms such as seeing double at near or far while viewing an object. They are low in cost and can be easily applied to a pair of spectacle lenses in-office to try out on a patient for several days or weeks, and refining the prism prescription is inexpensive and simple. Patients with constant strabismus may need corrective prism, or an amount of prism that completely neutralizes their strabismus, in order to obtain good levels of fusion. Most importantly, the esotropia remained the same or decreased in lateral gaze to either side in all patients, even those evaluated acutely. They concluded that medial rectus recession is as effective as lateral rectus resection and suggested that double the distance angle of esotropia should be used as the surgical target. make average daily distance tasks more manageable with less frequent symptoms. Scheiman M, Wick B. The results of CT or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), available at the time of initial evaluation, were not initially considered since one of the aims of this study was to identify clinical features that might be helpful in predicting which patient was harboring a neurologic disorder. . [1]SES should be differentiated from heavy eye syndrome (HES) which is an association of axial high myopia, esotropia, and hypotropia. DJDivergence insufficiency. J AAPOS. Wall Methods: We investigated 20 cases of high myopia (>-6 D) with divergence insufficiency, 20 cases of high myopia without double vision, and 10 normal cases as controls. In some circumstances, individuals with convergence insufficiency will also suffer from high exophoria or, In many cases, individuals with convergence insufficiency will notice that their symptoms worsen as they get tired or after attempting to do near tasks for a prolonged. A person with divergence insufficiency may have double vision at a distance, which mainly occurs with severe exhaustion and fatigue. 7. Wednesday, March 15, 2023 | All Eyes On Evaporation, Thursday, April 13, 2023 | All Eyes On Evaporation, Tuesday, April 18, 2023 | All Eyes On Evaporation. A new prescription for prism lenses was dispensed to the patient at the follow-up examination. While none of the patients had other symptoms to suggest giant cell arteritis or myasthenia gravis, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (performed in 7 patients) and acetylcholine receptor antibody assay (performed in 6 patients) were tested, and the results were normal in all. 132. Fresnel prism, however, degrades visual acuity and contrast sensitivity, and some patients may not find it cosmetically appealing.12 A significant decrease in visual acuity through the Fresnel lens can be seen at larger prism powers, particularly at those greater than 12 PDs.13 When trialing Fresnel prism, it is advisable to only place the Fresnel over one eye so that the patient retains good binocular visual acuity with the prism in place. I trialed 2 PDs of base-down prism using a Fresnel prism over the right eye and dispensed at the initial visit. These questions are archived at https://neuro-ophthalmology.stanford.eduFollow https://twitter.com/NeuroOphthQandA to be notified of new neuro-ophthalmology questions of the week.Please send feedback, questions, and corrections to tcooper@stanford.edu. What causes divergence insufficiency? Patients with DI typically complain of gradual onset, variable frequency, homonymous diplopia, which is worse at distance. the accommodative and vergence systems are tightly correlated. No signs of orbital ischemia were present in the second patient. [5] The ligament was ruptured in 64% of orbits with DPE and 91% of orbits with CVS. [4]A dense band iss present from the medial rectus to the inferior pulleys (MRIR band) and from the medial rectus to the superior rectus pulleys (MRSR band). RVD states that esotropic patients of magnitude 6 to 20 PDs should be left with 4 to 6 PDs of residual vergence demand. Initial tenotomy 30% of tendon width was performed to avoid intraoperative overcorrection. Individuals with divergence insufficiency often have a low AC/A ratio with a high near point of convergence. Near point convergence is the distance you can use both eyes without seeing double. To be enrolled in the study, patients had to meet the following 5 criteria: 1) relatively sudden onset of double vision at far vision, 2) no double vision at near vision, 3) high myopia >6.0 diopters (D) in both eyes, 4) no other neurological symptoms, and 5) a normal . Classically convergence spasm is nonorganic. Pang Y, Teitelbaum B, Krall J. . Br J Ophthalmol. EDivergence insufficiency: characteristics, diagnosis, and treatment.